Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Place one of the pie shells in a 9-inch pie plate making sure to crimp well over the edge other wise it will shrink into the plate; cook per package directions, set aside.

In a saucepan melt the 1 Tbsp. of butter and add onion, salt, pepper, garlic powder and sage; cook until tender. Add the 1/4 cup butter and melt; add the flour and cook for 1 minute. Add chicken broth and stir until thickened. Stir in cream. Add chicken and vegetables to the sauce.

Place chicken mixture in cooked pie shell and top with raw pie dough. Make a couple of slits in the top, crimp the edges around the pie plate, brush with egg wash and bake for 12-15 minutes or until the pastry is golden brown.

Brown meat in oil. Add onion and celery. Cook until tender but not brown. Drain off grease. Add tomato sauce, soup and seasoning. Simmer uncovered about 20 minutes. Serve on toasted hamburger buns or on top of cornbread.

Season brisket on all sides liberally with salt, pepper and garlic powder. Place brisket in roasting pan. Cover brisket with dressing, cover pan with foil and cook in oven at 325 degrees until tender, about 2-1/2 to 3 hours. You can slice on the diagonal for slices or you can shred it for shredded beef sandwiches. Super easy!!

In a 9 x 13 pan pour 1/2 cup of sauce and spread in bottom of dish. Place all of the broccoli on top of the sauce then pour half of the sauce on top. The next layer is the cooked chicken, top with remaining sauce. Sprinkle with the Parmesan cheese. Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes, then broil until the sauce is golden around the edges and on top. Serve on top of egg noodles.

*Hint: We usually double the sauce recipe so that we have enough for the egg noodles and just in case someone doesn't like the broccoli they still have something to eat!

In an extra large skillet, cook onion, celery, and green pepper in hot oil until tender but not brown. Add ground beef. Brown lightly, drain off grease. Add remaining ingredients except chips and cheese. Simmer uncovered 45 minutes stirring occasionally. Serve in a bowl and top with the chips and cheddar

In a large stock pot add butter and EVOO and melt over a medium-high heat. Add the chuck roast cubes, salt and pepper liberally. Brown meat until nice and caramelized, about 8-10 minutes. Turn heat down to medium and add the onion, bell pepper, ground beef (salt and pepper) then and sausage. Brown meat until ground beef and sausage are cooked through and onions and bell pepper are tender.

Mix well to combine all the flavors, turn heat to low and cover. Let it go, stirring occasionally until the chuck roast is tender, about 2 hours. Right before serving add a bag of frozen corn (or not). Serve with sour cream, shredded cheddar and chopped onion. Yum!!!!!

*If you want a quicker chili leave out the chuck roast and this can be on your dinner table in 45 minutes.

Wednesday, August 25, 2010

Who needs an ice cream maker when you can do this with just a few Ziploc bags? You're hands may be frozen, but it's a fun activity to do with your kids.-

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We double this recipe for our family of 5 and then take turns flipping the two bags. The boys think it's funny to wear snow gloves while they flip. It's actually a very smart idea!

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3/4 cup powdered sugar

1/2 cup half and half

1/2 cup grape juice (we've made it with grape, but this time we used peach nectar - yum!)

1/3 cup whipping cream

1 teaspoon lemon juice

3/4 cup rock salt

5 cups crushed ice

2 1-quart zipper bags

1 gallon zipper bag

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Combine first 5 ingredients in a medium bowl, stirring until sugar dissolves. Pour creamy grape mixture into a 1-quart zipper bag; carefully seal bag. (The first time we made this we only used one bag and our ice cream tasted salty....so, now we use two 1-quart baggies. I'd definitely recommend it.)

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Place about half of the rock salt , about 2 cups of crushed ice, and the sealed 1-quart bag in a 1-gallon zipper bag. Seal it up tight!

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Place the bag on a flat surface. Gently flip bag, end over end, for 5 minutes. Open the 1-gallon bag over a sink, and drain water. Add remaining rock salt and another 3 cups of crushed ice. Reseal. Continue flipping the bag, end over end, for 15 more minutes.

In a large mixing bowl combine 1 ¼ c of the flour, the yeast, and salt; add warm water and oil. Beat with an electric mixer on low for 30 seconds, scraping the bowl. Beat on high for 3 minutes. Using a wooden spoon, stir in as much of the remaining flour as you can.

Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Knead in enough remaining flour to make a moderately stiff dough that is smooth and elastic. Divide dough in half. Cover and let rest for 10 mins.

Make two 12 inch thin crust pizzas, put on greased pans. We let them sit out for 30-45 mins before putting them in the oven. This isn't necessary but really makes the dough better in the end.

Bake crust on greased pans @ 425 F for ten minutes. Then take out and add sauce and toppings (this one has our favorite BBQ sauce with chicken and 3 kinds of cheese! yum!) Put into oven for 10 more minutes. You can also make mini pizzas @ 425 F, and for not as long as the bigger pizzas (8 minutes, then 5 minutes)..

You can freeze the dough as well. Thaw in fridge overnight. (This dough is actually better when it has been frozen and then thawed!!)

Mix first 5 ingredients and we judge it by smell( since you can't taste raw meat) and make 4 patties, throw them on the BBQ and cook for 5 min. or so on each side.

Saute onions and mushrooms when burgers are just about done put 1/4 the onions and mushrooms on patty and put a slice of swiss cheese on top to melt. Toast the buns (if ya like) and fix to your liking. Don't get mad at yourself if they don't turn out like Adam's garlic burgers. He has been trying to perfect them for a while now. Enjoy cuz we did!!

preheat oven to 400*. Season the chicken with salt and pepper and place in the oven for 20-25 minutes or until done. Remove chicken and dice.

Heat beans, warm tortillias in a pan or in microwave. Divide the cooked rice and add it to the center of each tortilla; top with the chicken, lettuce, beans, onions, cilantro, tomato, and avocado. Fold up the bottom part of the tortilla, then roll each side over. I put the sour cream in also! Adam couldn't believe it was diet food!!